Neil Simon: Life Essay, Research Paper

Who the Heck is Neil Simon?

Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Odd Couple, The Out-of-Towners, The Sunshine Boys are just a few of Neil Simon s most successful plays which have kept millions of people amused for many years now. His success in the playwriting business has earned him respect from his readers and recognition not only as the most successful playwright, but one of the best. Brighton Beach Memoirs was written as a reflection upon his own childhood life.

Simon was born in the Bronx, an area located in New York City. He joined the United States Army at the age of 16 and studied for a short time at New York University and at the University of Colorado. Simon was later discharged from the Army in 1946, he then worked for Warner Bros., where his older brother Danny, worked for the publicity department. The two wrote many comedy sketches for radio and television comedy stars. Simon wrote his first play, Come Blow Your Horn (1961), which was featured on Broadway for over 2 years.

Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), was just one of out of his three autobiographical plays. It was written as a reflection upon his own childhood life growing up during the depression in New York City. Like the Jerome and Morton family in the play, Simon lived in a house occupied by 8 people. According to Simon, life was very much like that of the life in Brighton Beach Memoirs. Making ends meat was tough and Simon s own father was similar to Jack Jerome. Simon expresses his own deep and personal feelings for his father in Brighton Beach Memoirs. In reality, Simon s father was not as vulnerable to care and love, as he wanted him to be. He never checked his report cards, nor did he ever ask about them. Jack Jerome, however, seems to care about Eugene s schooling with great concern. It is as if Simon created Jack Jerome to the father he wanted as a child growing up in the Bronx. Simon incarnated his role into the character of Eugene Jerome. Like Simon during his childhood, Eugene has a great interest in the sport of baseball and hopes one day that he will be able to play for the New York Yankees. Baseball was very important to Simon because it kept him entertained , despite the harsh era he was living in. Eugene is somewhat similar, other than his desire for sex; he has his interest in baseball, which helps him get by during the Depression. Simon also kept his own memoirs like Eugene did and wrote in it every day. Stanley Jerome was modeled after his own older Brother, Danny Simon. Danny looked after Simon with great care during his childhood, much of how Stanley looks out for Eugene in Brighton Beach Memoirs. The life in Brighton Beach Memoirs shares a similarity with the childhood life of Neil Simon. This playwright gives his readers a glimpse of his own life, despite the fact that he his known as a very private man .

In conclusion, Neil Simon is indeed one of the greatest play writers of all time. In spite of his wife s terrible death in the 70 s, he still managed to present millions of readers with this extraordinary play. He has managed to overcome his own struggles to develop his own craft and the many rewrites and rejections. Neil Simon s patience and dedication to play writing has earned him the respect of many critics, and many readers.